our endeavour to give every fact its full scope; but at the fame time to retrench all difgufting fuperfluity, to give every object the due proportion it ought to maintain in the general picture of mankind, without crowding the canvas. We hope, therefore, that the reader will here fee the revolutions of empires without confufion, and trace arts and laws from one kingdom to another, without lofing his intereft in the narrative of their other tranfactions. To attain these ends with greater certainty of fuccefs, we have taken care in fome measure to banifh that late, and we may add gothic practice of ufing a multiplicity of notes; a thing as much unknown to the antient hiftorians as it is difgufting in the moderns. Balzac fomewhere calls vain erudition the baggage of antiquity; might we in turn be permitted to make an apophthegm, we would call notes the baggage of a bad writer. It certainly argues a defect of method, or a want of perfpicuity, when an author is thus obliged to write notes upon his own works; and it may affuredly be faid, that whoever undertakes to write a comment upon himself, will for ever remain without a rival his own commentator. We have therefore lopped off fuch excrefcencies, though not to any degree of affectation; as fometimes an acknowledged blemish may be admitted into works of fkill, either to cover a greater defect, or to take a nearer courfe to beauty. Having mentioned the danger of affectation, it may be proper to obferve, that as this of all defects is moft apt to infinuate itfelf into fuch a work, we have therefore been upon our guard against it. Innovation in a performance of this nature fhould by no means be attempted: thofe names and fpellings which have been used in our language for time immemorial ought to continue unaltered; for, like ftates, they acquire a fort of jus diuturna poffeffionis, as the civi

lians express it, however unjust their original claims might have been.

With respect to chronology and geography, the one of which fixes actions to time, while the other affigns them to place, we have followed the most ap proved methods among the moderns. All that was requifite in this, was to preferve one fyftem of each invariably, and permit fuch as chofe to adopt the plans of others, to rectify our deviations to their own ftandard. If actions and things are made to preferve their due distances of time and place mutųally with refpect to each other, it matters little as to the duration of them all with refpect to eternity, or their fituation with regard to the universe.

Thus much we have thought proper to premife concerning a work which, however executed, has coft much labour and great expence. Had we for our judges the unbiaffed and the judicious alone, few words would have ferved, or even filence would have been our beft addrefs; but when it is confidered that we have laboured for the public, that mifcellaneous being, at variance' within itself, from the differing influence of pride, prejudice or incapacity; a public already fated with attempts of this nature, and in a manner unwilling to find out merit till forced upon its notice; we hope to be pardoned for thus endeavouring to fhew where it is prefumed we have had a fuperiority. An Hiftory of the World to the present time, at once fatisfactory and fuccinct, calculated rather for ufe than curiofity, to be read rather than confulted, feeking applause from the reader's feelings, not from his ignorance of learning, or affectation of being thought learned; an Hiftory that may be purchased at an eafy expence, yet that omits nothing material, delivered in a ftile correct, yet familiar, was wanting in our language; and though fenfible of our own infufficiency, this defect we have

attempted

attempted to fupply. Whatever reception the prefent age or pofterity may give this work, we reft fa tisfied with our own endeavours to deserve a kind one. The completion of our defign has for fome years taken up all the time we could fpare from other Occupations, of lefs importance indeed to the public, but probably more advantageous to ourselves. We are unwilling therefore to difmifs this fubject without obferving, that the labour of fo great a part of life should at leaft be examined with candour, and not carelessly confounded in that multiplicity of daily publications which are conceived without effort, are produced without praise, and fink without cenfure.

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